The invention relates to a stimulation system, such as a pelvic nerve or sacral nerve stimulation system, having a tool for programming an electrical stimulation generator, such as an implantable pulse generator (IPG), of the system.
A sacral nerve stimulator is a device used to provide electrical stimulation to the pelvic region of a patient, for example the sacral nerve or the pudendal nerve, in order to treat problems such as incontinence. The stimulator includes an implanted or external pulse generator and an implanted stimulation lead having one or more electrodes at a distal location thereof. The pulse generator provides the stimulation through the electrodes via a body portion and connector of the lead. Stimulation programming in general refers to the configuring of stimulation electrodes and stimulation parameters to treat the patient using one or more implanted leads and its attached IPG. For example, the programming is typically achieved by selecting individual electrodes and adjusting the stimulation parameters, such as the shape of the stimulation waveform, amplitude of current in mA (or amplitude of voltage in V), pulse width in microseconds, frequency in Hz, and anodic or cathodic stimulation.
Despite recent advances in medical technology, existing pelvic or sacral nerve stimulation methods, systems, and devices still have various shortcomings. For example, one problem faced by existing pelvic or sacral nerve stimulation systems and methods is that they lack a reliable way to indicate how well the lead has been placed or implanted inside the patient. The correct implantation of the lead is crucial, as a correctly-implanted lead can produce stimulation therapy that stimulates the patient effectively, whereas it may be difficult for an incorrectly implanted lead (or even a lead that is not implanted optimally) to produce the stimulation therapy to treat the patient effectively. Often times, even doctors (who may lack experience in this particular field) cannot accurately evaluate how well the lead has been implanted.
Therefore, although existing systems and methods for performing sacral nerve stimulation are generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in all respects.